


a human and a mermaid

by orphan_account



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Everyone is 17-18, F/F, Fluff, Friendships between the main 5, Gen, Mermaid!Sayaka, Non-magical AU, Slice of Life, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaname Madoka had always known she would drown. </p><p>a madosaya mermaid au</p>
            </blockquote>





	a human and a mermaid

_Somehow, Kaname Madoka had always known she would drown._  
_After all, a life as good as hers had to come with a price, right? And since she was a child, she had always been afraid of the water…_  
_She let her wildly thrashing legs go limp, and her arms stopped grasping for the surface. She was not afraid. She only wished she could have enjoyed her happiness a little longer…_  
_Her chest squeezed painfully, and her lungs burned for air. She let out the last of her breath, sure the darkness was the last thing she'd ever see._  
_But when she opened her eyes, she was washed up on the shore, staring into the clearest blue._  


\---

Four friends were walking home as the cherry blossoms blew, back from another day of school at Mitakihara High. 

“So? Whaddaya guys think? Pretty cool, right?” Sakura Kyouko turned on each of the other three girls in turn, eyes shining excitedly. 

“ _That_ ,” – a pause, for dramatic effect- “is the most reckless, senselessly dangerous, _ridiculous_ plan I have ever heard.”

“What’s the matter, Akemi, you _scared_?”

“Just _terrified_.” Akemi Homura deadpanned. “Hold me in your strong arms, Sakura Kyouko, O Brave Protector.”

Kyouko grinned, showing off her sharp teeth as she bumped Homura’s shoulder. “All you had to do was ask, _princess_.”

Madoka’s heart sank as Homura bristled, ready to retort. If there were two things Kaname Madoka hated most, it was conflict and danger, and this was a conflict _about_ danger, her worst nightmare. She could never come between Homura and Kyouko when they got like this, but luckily she could always depend on- 

“That’s _enough_ , you two,” Tomoe Mami cut in, eyes flashing. “You’re upsetting Madoka.” 

The two gave Mami mutinous glares, but wisely backed down. “Sorry, Madoka,” they mumbled quietly. 

People often questioned how sweet, motherly Tomoe Mami managed to break up arguments between Sakura Kyouko and Akemi Homura- a task failed by two teachers, the principal, and a security guard, on one particularly memorable occaison- but anybody who had seen Mami truly angry never questioned it again. That sweet, motherly girl could put the wrath of a god to shame if she so chose.

Madoka sighed in relief. Mami would take care of this, like she always did, and none of them would have to- 

“Besides,” Mami continued, “You two will have plenty of time to argue when we put Sakura-san’s plan into action.”

\- _Do something reckless_. Madoka’s heart sank somewhere near her feet.

Kyouko’s head snapped up like an excited puppy, mouth gaping in shock. “So we’re doing it?” Homura looked just as thrilled and impressed, though she hid it much better. 

Mami smiled. “We’re doing it,” She confirmed. 

Kyouko threw herself at Mami, squeezing her tightly around the middle. “Alright!” She whooped excitedly. “Didn’t know you had it in you, _Mami-senpai_!” She said the honorific mockingly, but the delight in her voice made it sweet and teasing. Madoka felt herself smiling a little.

“Well, you and Homura always go on adventures and I always stay home and scold you, but this is our last year of high school. I want to do something reckless with you while I still have the chance!” 

"Woohoo! Finally, Mom shows her cool side!” Kyouko grinned around at all of them. “Hey, Homura! I see you smiling over there!” 

Homura quickly turned away, mouth twitching. “I most certainly was not.” 

“Was too!” 

“Was _not_.” Homura’s smile widened, and she hastily adjusted her glasses to cover it behind her hand.

Mami giggled. “Akemi-san, you are so cute.” 

Homura’s answering flush was instant. “Tomoe Mami- You- How _dare_ \- I am NOT cute!” She sputtered indignantly. Kyouko laughed, dancing over to ruffle the girl’s dark hair. “ _Homu-chan, Homu-chaaaaan_ ” She singsonged, “So _cute ~_ …”

Madoka remained silent, still thinking nervously of what Kyouko had planned for tomorrow night. She tried to soothe the knot in her stomach by watching the blowing blossoms, as pink as her hair. 

A warm hand fell on her shoulder. “Yo, Madoka,” Kyouko grinned, “You’re coming too, right?”

“It’ll be safe, don’t worry, Kaname-san,” Mami reassured her. “We’ll all be watching in case something happens.” 

“We’ll be there to help you if anything goes wrong.” Homura promised solemnly, adjusting her red glasses. 

“Hmmm…aaahhhh….” Madoka was scared, but she didn’t want to ruin her friends’ fun. In the end, her selfless side won over. “…Alright.” 

Instantly she was swept clean off her feet, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. “YEAH! That’s the spirit!” 

“Kyouko-chan, put me down!” Madoka acted offended, but she couldn’t help but laugh as her friend twirled her around. 

“This’ll be so fun, Madoka! I promise.” 

And for a moment, Madoka was almost excited too. 

The high wore off later though, when she was alone in her room that night and she was _scared of the ocean_ and _what had she been thinking_ and _how could she have possibly agreed to_ -

\---

“-CLIFF JUMPING!” Kyouko shouted excitedly, throwing her arms open wide to feel the breeze. 

“Cliff jumping,” Homura agreed, struggling to stay aloof and not act like Kyouko as the adrenaline set in.

“ _-Cliff jumping_ ” Madoka moaned, burying her face in her hands. Her stomach had been hovering somewhere near her feet all day. She’d barely paid any attention in class. 

At least she’d only had to suffer one day of suspense, she consoled herself. Now, she could just close her eyes, jump, get this over with, and that would be her quota of teenage thrill seeking for the month.

Possibly the year.

Or the decade. 

Or her entire life. 

Mami sensed her unease. “It’ll be alright,” she soothed, running her fingers slowly through Madoka's pigtails. “Watch, I’ll even go first.” 

She stepped forward, held out her arms, and arched up, graceful as a swan. Homura and Kyouko stood at the ledge, watching. Madoka hung back, breathing deeply and wiping the sweat off her palms onto her thighs. 

“Nice backflip, Mami!” Kyouko whooped. She turned back to her timid friend. “Madoka, come watch!” 

“Nooooooooooooooo,” She moaned, burying her face in her hands. 

“Suit yourself.” Kyouko’s grin was the kind mothers warned their children about, Madoka thought idly. “Here I go!” 

She took a running jump and shot off like a red rocket, hair streaming behind her. Not long after, Homura followed, diving with a cool, simple elegance Madoka envied. 

Finally, it was her turn. She stepped forward on trembling legs, and looked down. Her friends were all sitting on the beach, soaking wet and laughing and calling her name, cheering her on.

 _See?_ Madoka told herself sternly. _They're all fine. They had fun, even. Nothing to be afraid of._

Spreading her arms out as if they were wings, like Mami had, she closed her eyes and jumped. 

\---

Somewhere in between her last desperate gasp for air as the water closed over her head and the realization she most likely wouldn’t survive this, Madoka realized how much of a fool she’d been. 

The problem had never been the jump, but where she was going to land. 

She thought she’d be over it by now, but she was still scared of the ocean. Admitting it to herself paralyzed her and weighed her limbs down, heavy as anchors. Just like back then. 

She stopped fighting the current, accepting her fate as her lungs filled with water. She wouldn’t let herself die afraid. She’d had a good life. She just wished she could have said goodbye to her mother…

The smiling faces of her parents and little brother soothed her, and she almost could have smiled too. 

Then the last bubble of her breath slipped between her lips, and she knew nothing but darkness, squeezing tightly around her middle and pulling her into unknown depths.

\---

When she came to, Madoka was confused. 

Kyouko had told her about heaven, but she had always said it was all white, not blue. Thinking about how outraged her religious friend would be that she’d gotten it wrong made Madoka want to laugh, and so she did. 

“Are you okay?” Asked an unfamiliar voice above, seeming alarmed by her laughter. 

Madoka was even more confused now. There was something in her hair that felt like- fingers? Why could she still smell the ocean? And the skies in heaven didn’t talk, did they? 

Then her mind caught up with her senses, and she realized she wasn’t looking at a sky, but a pair of blue eyes. Attached to a face framed by short blue hair, and a long neck, and a muscled torso, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. 

Huh. So that hadn’t been darkness squeezing her and pulling her along, but another girl. Who must have pulled her back to shore.

Still too shocked to fully process the situation, Madoka nonetheless remembered her manners and began to thank the strange girl, before her eyes slid lower and she gasped. 

A tail!

A tail the same bright blue as the girl’s hair and eyes, ending in a wide and beautiful fin that was split in two down the middle, curling up at the corners like a heart. The scales were reflecting the pink and purple light of the sunset, the shades constantly changing as the tail swayed slowly. The effect was breathtaking. Madoka could have stared forever, but lifting her head even that much had left her drained and dizzy, and she fell back with a weak moan, hacking up water onto the sand. 

“Are you okay?” The girl- _mermaid?_ Madoka wondered - Repeated urgently, sliding her fingers down from Madoka’s hair to cup her cheek. 

She sounded so worried. Madoka ached to reassure her, but she was still too overwhelmed and tired to form words. The mermaid’s hand was calloused and wet to the touch, and when she moved Madoka could feel her abdominal muscles ripple where they were pressed together, cool and smooth like waves. Madoka let her eyes slip closed, losing herself in the mermaid’s presence, like a whole ocean meant just for her.

“MADOKA?” Homura’s voice echoed across the beach, shouting frantically. 

“Kaname-san?” Mami called fretfully. “Can you hear us? Are you alright?”

Kyouko sounded beside herself. “Dammit, I’m such an idiot, what the hell was I _thinking_ , I should have _never_ asked her to come-“

From the sound of it, her friends would be on them in seconds. The mermaid’s eyes widened and she slipped back into the ocean faster than Madoka could call out a warning. Somehow, she knew the mermaid didn’t want to be seen, but that didn’t change how disappointed she felt when she left.

Her friends missed the mermaid by barely a second. Mami sat with her on the beach, patting her back firmly as she coughed up more saltwater. Madoka was suddenly very thankful that her friend was a lifeguard, and such a caring one at that. Homura hovered anxiously, checking Madoka's pulse every few seconds while Kyouko apologized in the form of increasingly creative swear words, soothed only when Madoka smiled and patted her friend’s hand. None of this had been Kyouko's fault, and Madoka wanted to make sure she knew that.

When she finally got home that night- Homura supporting her left side and Kyouko her right, while Mami spoke to her parents- her mother and father fussed over her endlessly, supplying warm drinks and comforting shoulders and bombarding her with endless questions. 

Madoka supposed she should feel relieved she had survived, or guilty that she’d caused her friends and family to worry so much about her. But all she could think about, for the second time that night, was how much of an idiot she was. 

She’d been so amazed by the sight of the mermaid‘s tail that she hadn’t even noticed the two yellow clips she’d been wearing just behind her right ear, tucked away into the bright blue hair.

**Author's Note:**

> if you want lesbian mermaid fluff you've come to the right place, no death and eternal suffering here
> 
> this is sort of inspired by [this fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/958136/chapters/1876158), it's amazing you should go read it


End file.
